Kingdom Hearts 0: The Keyblade King
by Nukid
Summary: In face of the oncoming return of Xehanort, Master Yen Sid decides that Sora, Riku and Mickey must learn about the forgotten history of the Keybearers, the past of Yen Sid, and the story of The Keyblade King, Ikari. OC/Ashe *FFXII*   Noel/Serah *FFXIII-2*
1. Prologue

Hey everyone. Some of you may know me from an old Kingdom Hearts fic called 'Hearts of Desire', a fic with some interesting ideas, but very meh execution. I apologise to any fans of that fic that hoped for a continuation, but alas I will not. Instead, I would like to work on this new fanfic which I've been planning for quite some time now.

With all that said and done, enjoy!

* * *

><p>Sora and Riku stood silently, but with unspoken impatience as they stood in the office of Master Yen Sid. They had both just completed Yen Sid's Mark of Mastery Exam in order for them to become full-fledged Keyblade Masters and thought that they could head home for Destiny Island. However, Yen Sid had instead asked them to see him in his office, saying it was of grave importance.<p>

"If what he wants to say is so important, then where is he?" Sora exasperated with open annoyance. Riku said nothing, but nodded slightly in agreement.

Their annoyance was quickly quelled when the door to their right opened, and in stepped Master Yen Sid. The tall, old man was as imposing as he had ever been, which was quite a feat when considered how silly his hat looked. Despite his obvious age, the man showed no signs of exhaustion or fatigue.

Beside him stood the King, Mickey, almost the complete opposite of Yen Sid. Smiling brightly and honestly, the Kings appearance lacked any aggression or any attempt to come off as imposing to others, which would've no doubt been near impossible to achieve had he tried. Despite this, both Sora and Riku knew that Mickey was the last person you should underestimate, and in battle he was quite possibly the strongest of the three Keybearers present.

With a slight huff, Master Yen Sid sat down on his large oak chair, staring directly at Sora and Riku "I'm glad you're both here. Now you have both become Keyblade Masters, there is much we must discuss."

"Let me guess" Sora chirped up "now that we're Keyblade Masters, you wanna hold a party for us?"

"No."

"Ooh…"

"Is it to do with Xehanort, Master Yen Sid?" Riku asked abruptly. With that mere sentence, the entire room became tense, and everyone was quiet with openly uncomfortable faces.

Yen Sid eventually nodded slowly "it is. As you both know, now that his Heartless Ansem and his Nobody Xemnas have been defeated, Master Xehanort will return, and no doubt with powerful allies."

"He can bring who he wants, we'll take them all out!" Sora proclaimed passionately, pumping his fist "after everything we've been through, I'm not losing anyone!"

For the first time today it seemed, Yen Sid allowed a small smile to cross his lips. Mickey chuckled softly and said "good to see you're enthusiastic, Sora. However, I didn't call you here today to plan strategy against Xehanort."

"Then what did you call us for, Master Yen Sid?" Riku asked. Yen Sid closed his eyes, seemingly in thought for a moment, before posing the question.

"How much about Xehanort's true goal do you know? Do you both understand why he has did all the things he did? Why he continues on this path?"

Neither Sora nor Riku could reply to this question. Both were too surprised by the question that neither could answer. They both had grown to hate Xehanort for what he had done, and for the grief he had caused them via his Heartless and Nobody, but both inwardly admitted that neither knew much about his motivation, about his reason for causing all the things he did.

Sora didn't believe he could ever empathise, while Riku was inwardly afraid he would empathise.

"Wh-what does it matter? All we need to know is that what he's doing is bad and how to stop him. It doesn't matter what his reason is" Sora stated defensively. Though Riku said nothing, he couldn't help but disagree. Part of him wanted to know, to hear more about the great villain they ultimately knew little on.

Yen Sid sighed heavily, and stared somewhat sadly at the two "it was…several decades ago when I first met Xehanort. He was the same age as you, standing exactly where you are, and he too had come for the Mark of Mastery Exam. He passed with much ease, the same age as…him.

"He was young, talented, intelligent, arrogant yes, but not unkind. He showed great desire to do for the entire universe, to change it for the better, and I believed…I believed…" everyone in the room was silently in shock to see the sad expression that was on Yen Sid's face, completely different to how he normally looked in front of them.

"I believe he was the one that would succeed him…and now all this has happened…" with a mighty sigh, Master Yen Sid stood up and walked to his left, towards the door from where he and Mickey had come in. "…and now, you three will see what he saw. The memories of the man that made Xehanort who he is today."

* * *

><p>With silence, Sora, Riku and King Mickey followed Master Yen Sid through the room, leading to the door to what looked like a cellar. They followed Yen Sid down the dark, narrow, stone cobbled stairs, feeling the air around them grow colder and colder the further they went down.<p>

"The passageway grows narrower the further we go down" Mickey pointed out, the only one walking down the stairs comfortably "you two be careful you don't hit your-"

"OW!"

"…head."

After what felt like half an hour of going further and further down, the group reached a small door that was barely visible in the darkness. With a turn of a handle, Yen Sid opened the creaking door, revealing to the group a large room, the size of an entire floor, having the same cold draft as the staircase, along with the same dreary grey stone cobbled look. The room was completely empty, save for one thing.

The Keyblade that was pierced into the centre of the floor.

Yen Sid strode forward ahead of the group, looking solemnly at the Keyblade "it's been a while…too long I suppose. All right you three, stand around the Keyblade."

"Umm…sure" Sora mumbled. Complying, the three walked up to the Keyblade, surrounding it in a circle. The three tried to get a good look at the Keyblade, but with a portion of it in the ground it was hard to get an overall look at it. What they could see was completely black and covered with dust, but of course not even the slightest hint of decay.

"Now, place your hands on the Keyblade and close your eyes" Yen Sid ordered from the corner. Slowly, the three did as they were asked, grabbing the handle of the Keyblade and closing their eyes. Waiting for further instructions, the three kept their eyes closed.

"Now…open them."

The three opened their eyes, and they were no longer in the large room.

Heavy rain poured down on the scenery, pounding down on it like a merciless enemy. The land itself however was even bleaker than the horrible weather. The ground was grey and lifeless, the only plants emanating from it were the black, long dead trees. The group could see mountains in the distance, and the place they stood looked like it was once a forest, but there was now no sign of life of any kind around.

The land was dying, and growing weaker by the second.

"_Wh-where are we?" _Sora called out. He looked all around him, desperately trying to find an answer of some kind. Riku and Mickey looked equally shocked, but it was Riku who noticed first that the rain that was pouring down on them…wasn't pouring on them at all.

They weren't getting wet, because they were transparent in this world, not a part of it, but mere watchers.

"_**Before he died, he placed part of his heart into his Keyblade…"**_ Master Yen Sid's voice echoed through them. The group looked around, but could not see the old master anywhere, his presence like an omnipresent god_** "…so when the Heartless returned, and a strong Keybearer with great potential came, he would know how to fight off the creatures and save the universe from them again…I once believed that was Xehanort, but now I must trust that this saviour is one of you."**_

"_Who is this person you speak of, Master?"_ Mickey called out. _"who is this great guy you speak of? You've never mentioned him before!"_

"_**His existence in his world has been long forgotten, it was so many centuries ago. And what he did…what he represented, men like Master Eraqus worked so that his name be forgotten."**_ Master Yen Sid proclaimed, his voice holding back a hint of anger _**"But I refuse to let him be forgotten. Turn to your left, my friends, and look upon him."**_

In unison, the three Keybearers turned to their lefts, and saw the figure lying on his back on the desolate ground, the heavy rain pouring across his face and body, drenching him head to toe. He was around 18 years of age, of medium height but with a muscular build, and he had short blonde length hair that had mud and blood meshed into it. His face and any exposed skin had several cuts and wounds across the body, none lethal but many to make a normal person unable to move. His eyes were closed and…it did not look like he was breathing.

"_**I ask my friends that you keep silent till his story ends, for his story is a lesson to us all. It was this man that Xehanort grew to idolize, and all of his actions were inspired by the life of this man you see here. This was the man Xehanort wished deep down to be."** _Yen Sid explained

"_The man…Xehanort wished to be"_ Riku repeated, finding it hard to sink in _"but…who was he?"_

"_**He was…my good friend. He was the Keyblade King...He was known by many as Ikari. And this, is his story."**_

Ikari breathed in heavily, and opened his right eye as he woke up.


	2. Death Of A Planet

Ikari breathed in heavily, and opened his right eye as he woke up.

He could feel the rain beating down on him, heavy and fast, drenching him from head to toe. The rain made it hard to breathe at first, and his entire body ached from the cold. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out, minutes, hours, maybe even days? When travelling to different worlds, where the days may be shorter or longer, where there may be three moons or no moons at all, telling the time could be an audacious task.

There was only one thing Ikari knew for certain.

_I'm alive..._ Ikari mused to himself. Lying his head on the muddy ground, he felt his lips tug into a smile, and a faint chuckle emanate from him. What had transpired prior to blacking was still a haze, but it was slowly coming back to him. At the very least, there was one thing he was certain on.

He had been fighting the Heartless.

"How many though…" Ikari whispered, wiping his hazed eyes. He couldn't have been knocked out, or else he'd be…one of them. So he must've fallen from exhaustion.

_Must've been around 5000 then…_Grumbling, he decided lying on the muddy and wet ground was not worth the limited comfort it gave him, so he dazedly got to his feet, restraining himself from groaning at the pains all of his body.

As he got to his feet, the dead valley in which he stood opened up completely to his eyes, and it became clearer to him what had transpired to him beforehand. He had been one of the many Keybearers sent to this planet, where the Heartless had suddenly and violently attacked the planet and in but a matter of days, effectively killed it. The planet was now like a terminally ill patient on his final breathes, and the mission had been labelled as Level 4 priority.

The Keybearers were there to simply protect the planets inhabitants as they were evacuated off the planet.

There was no hope of saving the planet from destruction.

_What was its name?…Gerran?…Gerrack?..._Sighing, Ikari decided it wasn't important anyway. Loosening his right hand, he summoned his Keyblade into his palm, a completely black Keyblade with an equally black Keychain. Save its colour-which many voiced their dislike for-it was a very plain and simple Keyblade. Ikari liked it like that. His Keyblade was probably the closest thing he had to family. Everything that defined him as a person was in this. It was the tool of his only goal, his only motivation, his only motivation for living.

Its name? Black Desire.

In the corner of his eye, Ikari spotted something, or rather someone, whose red coat was conflicting to the grim grey colour of everything else. Ikari walked slowly at first, cautiously checking the shape of the figure, but when he was certain it was a person, he broke into a sprint.

"Hey…hey, you okay?" Ikari asked quickly. He knelt down beside him and turned him onto his back. Ikari didn't notice the young man's appearance at first. The messy red hair he possessed and the freckles on his cheeks, and how he was still young, around 15 or so.

Ikari just looked at the Keyblade embedded into his chest.

It was his Keyblade, he was sure of that. Ikari didn't recognise the kid, for which he felt slightly bad for, though Ikari barely talked to many other Keybearers…or anyone for that matter, unless it was to do with work. There was no blood around the Keyblade, there never was. It had passed through the flesh, and hit him straight into his heart.

Ikari had learnt of this long ago, and had seen it happen more than enough times to know what it meant. When a Keybearer was surrounded by Heartless, and was unable to fight them off or escape, performing this act was expected of them, for they knew the true horror of becoming a Heartless.

They stab themselves with their own Keyblade, and release their heart from their flesh. A Keybearers version of suicide.

_He must've died before I fainted from exhaustion…_Ikari sighed. A comrade had died so near to him and he had been completely unaware. The entire ordeal left a bitter taste in his dry mouth. Carefully, Ikari grabbed the deceased, red haired keybearers hands and placed them together over his chest, leaving his body in a dignified way.

"Rest in peace comrade…I will continue our fight" Ikari proclaimed, stepping up and bowing his head before the corpse. Without another word, Ikari strode off and left. He had no time to bury the body, not like it mattered. The ground itself was going to be gone in lord knows how long.

But Ikari wasn't going to die. He was going to live and fight on.

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>I remember the exact moment I first met Ikari…" <strong>_Master Yen Sid's voice radiated like an omnipresent god _**"…It would be the first of many times he would save my life."**_

The dozen Heartless surrounded the Keybearer in a tight circle, moving slowly forward, closing in their prey like a pack of wild animals. Probably a very accurate way to describe Heartless. They circle a boy of 15, with silver hair that would've shined had it not been for the pound of mud splashed all over it. He wore a blue jacket and pants that were covered in stain and cuts, and his left leg was covered in blood.

Yen Sid pushed himself to his feet, grimacing as he moved his injured left leg.

"S…so many of them…" Yen Sid panted, groaning as he reached at his injured leg. He looked all around him, desperately looking for an exit, but it was of no use. He was completely surrounded, and the Heartless were getting closer and closer by the second.

"No…way…no way…" Yen Sid whispered, his voice almost breaking. He tried hard to hold back tears, trying to tell himself it was the agony in his leg that was causing it, but that wasn't true at all "I…they always told us this kind of thing was likely, but…I never imagined…"

"_**I remember it all clearly. It was the first of many times I was certain I was gonna die."**_

In almost planned unison, the Heartless lunged forward, attacking the young Yen Sid in all directions. Yen Sid closed his eyes and held his hands over his face, unable to watch as he was attacked. Unable to watch as he was turned into a Heartless

"_**That was when I first met him…"**_

Five seconds passed, and he felt nothing. Another ten and all he could hear was the heavy rain. He slowly lowered his arms and opened his eyes. Not a single Heartless was in sight, but he was not alone.

Ikari stood in front of him, Black Desire in his left hand. His left knee was on the floor, like he had just lunged and landed. Yen Sid looked straight at Ikari, having no idea who he was, and stuttered "Wh-who are you?"

Ikari turned his head towards Ikari, and after a single moment of silence, said "I'm a Shinigami, hear to take you to the afterlife."

"R…really?"

"No."

"O-oh…" Yen Sid muttered. It didn't quite hit Yen Sid at first, but he quickly realised that this older warrior had just saved him from becoming a Heartless, and he felt a wave of relief overcome him. As he felt his body relax, Ikari stood up and allowed Black Desire to fade out of his grasp.

"Are you an Warrior type or a Magic type?" Ikari asked suddenly. So much so that Yen Sid was caught off guard "P-pardon?"

"I asked what kind of fighter are you? Do you fight close combat with your Keyblade, or do you fight long distance with magic?"

"Oh! I-I'm a Magic type, definitely!" Yen Sid laughed nervously "I guess you're a Warrior type, right? Thanks for saving me by the way!"

"Saved is rather subjective at the moment." Ikari said drolly, looking down at the dead earth beneath them "this world…I don't know how long it's got left. Hours, minutes, maybe even just seconds."

"The planet's…really gonna die. It's so hard to imagine a whole planet succumbing to the darkness."

Ikari didn't respond to that, but Yen Sid could see how his eyes almost closed, his face tightened, like he'd just been stabbed with a knife. Yen Sid looked away and quickly added "S-so what are we gonna do?"

"Ya still got your communicator? I've lost mine it seems."

"Oh, sure!" Yen Sid reached into his pocket, and took a small phone-like object, holding it up to Ikari. Ikari grabbed it and pressed a few blocks on the small keyboard, before holding it up to his left ear. He and Yen Sid waited silently for several long minutes, before the end of the call picked up.

"_This is Captain Sazh Katzroy speaking, of the Spaceship Bahamut._" Echoed a deep, almost growly but cheerful sounding voice_ "Captain Sazh Katzroy of the-"_

"Sazh, it's me. Ikari."

"I-I-Ikari?" Yen Sid gasped, his face going white with shock.

"_Ikari? You're alive! Oh thank god, I was worried sick! Your area was hit hard by the Heartless, and I worried sick you were gone."_

Ikari smiled "A few thousand Heartless is hardly to panic over Sazh."

"_Heh, I forget just how tough you are Ikari. Any other survivors with you?"_

"Just one." Ikari turned to Yen Sid and bellowed "what's your name?"

"Oh, er, Y-Yen Sid!" Yen Sid replied hastily. Ikari turned back and spoke "Yen Sid Sazh."

"_Yen Sid…oh yea, he was on the Bahamut on the trip here! He's a newbie, good to see a new fish survive something like this." _Sazh chuckled softly.

"By the skin of his teeth, it would seem" Ikari said dryly "So how'd the evacuation go?"

"_We did all we could. Evacuation an entire planets population never goes smoothly. Double D here theorised that at least 15% of the world's population are still out there…still hiding from the Heartless…or us." _Sazh stated grimly.

Ikari nodded grimly "It's to be expected. Strangers from another world telling them to leave their home, even though it's been ruined by Heartless, it's understandable they don't trust us."

"_Yea...it still hurts to think we can't help them though." _

"We can't save everyone Sazh, you know that." Ikari sighed "but I'm hoping you can save us. How far are you from us?"

"_Judging by your communicators beacon, about an hour." _Sazh said _"Don't worry Ikari, I'll get there as soon as-"_

"Sazh" Ikari said abruptly "if the world is about to be destroyed, get the hell out of there. Forget about us."

"…_Yea…I understand Ikari. Stay where you are and I'll kick this Ship into Overdrive! I'll be seeing you soon." _Sazh proclaimed, and with that, his side of the line went dead. Ikari lowered his arm and turned back to Yen Sid, who was looking up at Ikari with an amazed expression.

"You're…you're Ikari? You're THE Ikari!" Yen Sid asked loudly, filled with awe. Ikari sighed and sat beside Yen Sid.

"Since I don't know anyone by the name of Ikari, yes I am. Got a problem with that?" Ikari asked with a bored tone. Yen Sid however smiled and shuffled closer to him.

"A problem? Hardly! Dude, you're a legend amongst us new Keybearers! You're…you're…" Yen Sid started panting in excitement. Ikari noticed for the first time just how exhausted he was, and how him getting worked up like this wasn't helping.

_He probably took out around a few hundred Heartless himself…_Ikari noted, mildly impressed. Ikari held up his hand to stop the excited Yen Sid "Enough, you're making yourself worse. Besides, I don't need someone to lick my boots. Is that wound on your leg healed?"

"Y-yea, it's fine! What little magic I've still got I used to close it up, Mr Ikari sir!" Yen Sid assured. Ikari groaned.

"Don't started calling me Mr, or sir."

"S-Sorry." Yen Sid blushed embarrassingly "So, er, is any injuries I can heal for you? I mean, I don't have much power, but I can close a few cuts and scrapes or…" Yen Sid's voice trailed off when he finally noticed something about Ikari.

His left eye was permanently shut.

"Oh-oh crap! Ikari, you're eye!" Yen Sid gasped. He quickly pushed himself up to Ikari and hel his hands to his left eye "did you get stabbed there? Here, I'll try what I can to heal it!"

"Leave it. It's fine."

"B-but I can't just leave it like that! I don't have much energy, but surely I can-"

"I said leave it!" Ikari almost shouted, his voiced showing barely constrained anger, and Yen Sid shrank back like a scared puppy. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Ikari sighed and held his left fingers to the closed eye.

"I didn't do this today…and there's nothing you can do fix it…there's nothing anyone can do about it. Don't worry though, I can fight well enough-"

The said left eye began to twitch violently.

Yen Sid saw the sudden frown on Ikari's face "what's the matter?"

Ikari stood up, and summoned Black Desire to his hand "they're here."

Just as he said, a black pool of pure darkness surrounded the two like a ring of fire, and slowly the small images of Heartless began to surface from out of it like swamp monster out of a swamp. As the pool of darkness evaporated, Ikari and Yen Sid found themselves surrounded by well over a hundred pure Heartless.

"H-Heartless! And some many!" Yen Sid screamed, trying to get to his feet, but his injured leg gave way on him, and he fell to the ground. Ikari surveyed around them, lacking the fear Yen Sid openly displayed.

"It's not surprising really. The Keyblades are like beacons to them, and there are two here. In fact, I'm surprised they didn't come sooner." Ikari pointed out.

"S-s-so what do we do now?" Yen Sid asked desperately. Ikari stood forward, lifting Black Desire up.

"You keep back and only fight to defend yourself. Me…" Ikari grinned, the happiest Yen Sid had seen him thus far "…I'm gonna have some fun."

With but a single push of his right leg, Ikari pounced forward, jumping right into the horde of Heartless. As he was about to land, he span his body mid-air, and his Keyblade sliced in a circle, instantly destroying half a dozen Heartless in one move.

_**There was a reason as to why I had heard of Ikari before I had even met him…**_Yen Sid's voiced echoed into the minds of Sora, Riku and Mickey once more.

Wasting not a second, Ikari rammed into his right like a bull, swinging Black Desire diagonally around in front of him. Any Heartless that came in contact with it was thrown backwards and destroyed in a split second.

_**We learnt from the beginning that becoming a Keyblade Master was to be acknowledged as one of the best. Someone who could take on thousands of Heartless alone, someone who could handle most, if not all, missions given to him or her…..**_

Several Heartless jumped into the air, intending to pounce down on Ikari, but Ikari noticed in his right eye, and he quickly jumped back into the air himself. Almost like was suspended in space, Ikari took out every Pure Heartless with a stroke each, before landing back onto the ground.

_**It took most people years to become one however. Back then, you were lucky to become one in your late 20s…**_

The Heartless began to surround Ikari, completely ignoring Yen Sid, seeing despite their very limited intelligence just who the bigger threat by far was. They crawled closer, pouncing up at Ikari like wild animals, but Ikari's arms moved with lightning quick speed, and any Heartless that came in close contact of him was destroyed within seconds.

_**But Ikari…**_

More Heartless appeared from the ground, and joined the ranks surrounding Ikari, completely ignoring Yen Sid completely. With a battle cry, Ikari continued to slash any Heartless that came near him, his panting growing heavier, several wounds reopening themselves, but not for a second did Ikari falter.

_**Ikari had become a Keyblade Master when he was 16…**_

* * *

><p>The Spaceship Bahamut was a majestic ship. A long, white goliath of a ship that's bold white colouring conflicted with the dark grey planet heavily. It was big enough to carry around tens of thousands of people if needed, but only a handful were on deck at the moment, since it had not been one of the ships used to evacuate the worlds populace.<p>

It was but one of around a thousand Spaceships in the Keyblade Orders fighting force.

As the Bahamut landed onto the ground, a single door to the ship opened, and three figured jumped to the ground. All three were teenagers, and all three were quite bizarre to look at.

"All right gentlemen, we must act quickly. Ikari and this Yen Sid are around here somewhere." Spoke the teenager in the middle in a very mannered voice. He was the second tallest, but very skinny with pale skin. He wore a white uniform with the initials 'Technician' attached to its left side. His only distinct clothing however was the black hat that covered the top of his head completely.

"If he's still alive, Double D." pointed out the smallest of three, his voice much less formal and polite. He had much pinker skin, with three single hairs on the top of his head. He wore the same uniform as Double D, who shot him a glare at what he said "what?"

"It does not help to say such pessimistic things, Eddy." Double D scolded "besides, Ikari is stronger than anyone we know. He wouldn't let a few Heartless take him out. Right Ed?...Ed?"

"Oooh! Look what I found!" shouted a loud, stupid sounding voice from afar. Both Double D and Eddy turned and ran to their companion, who was kneeling on the ground a few feet away. He was the tallest of the three, bizarrely greenish-yellow skin color and had no chin whatsoever. He had a thick Monobrow across his simple smiling face, and his white uniform was least clean of the three.

"Ed, if this is another rock shaped like Godzilla, I'll-sweet lord, who's this?" Double D gasped, finally noticing that Ed had found an unconscious Yen Sid. Double D quickly placed his fingers to his necks, and showed open relief when he found a pulse.

"Phew, it looks like he's alive" Double D sighed with relief "now, we just need to find Ikari, and-"

"Don't worry, I'm here."

The three Eds turned around quickly, and saw Ikari hobble slowly towards them. His chest constantly moved in and out, his breathing heavy, and his clothes were soaked with blood from cuts that were either new or had simply reopened. Still, despite that and the obvious pain he was in, Ikari did not look like was about to collapse, the glare in his right eye ever apparent.

"Ikari!" Eddy exclaimed with a large smile. He proceeded to elbow Double D in the ribs "see, told you he'd be all right Sockhead!"

"Told ME? You were the one ready to write Mr. Ikari off!" Double D complained angrily. He turned back to Ikari and smiled "but it is good to see you're still alive Mr. Ikari. I guess this was nothing for a Keyblade Master."

"I wouldn't say that, but thanks." Ikari said, groaning slightly as he stepped forward "how's the kid?"

"In beddy-bye's Mr. Ikari!" Ed's child-like voice boomed across the valley. "I bet he's dreaming about Gravy!"

"Lumpy, you're the only one weird enough to dream about Gravy!" Eddy snapped "so stop being useless and pick him u-"

The ground began to tremor violently.

Everyone went silent, even Ed. Double D and Eddy showed open fear and horror on their face, and Ikari's face scrunched up into a frown.

"Shit, everyone onto the ship, hurry! The world's about to die!"

* * *

><p>With utmost haste, the Spaceship Bahamut lifted off of the rumbling ground, and started soaring straight up into the sky until it finally left the planets gravitational pull, finding itself in the endless dark void known as space. The planet was no less ugly from up in space, looking like a corpse that was in the middle of decomposing.<p>

A few minutes after entering space, it began.

Parts of the planet began to lift up, and darkness spewed out from it like lava from a volcano. A volcanic eruption was an excellent way to compare this to. The darkness began to encase the area around it, engulfing it, slowly destroying and eroding all around it, until almost a quarter of the planet had become pure dark itself.

Eventually, another part erupted, and then another, and in but a single minute, almost the entire planet was covered in the darkness, eroding the entire planet at an absurd speed, the planet getting smaller and smaller as the darkness sucked what little life was left in.

And then, the darkness began to move out, leave the area like ravens leaving a meatless corpse. It was like the darkness had sucked all the life of the planet, and once done left once again. The darkness itself seemed to evaporate, disappear, but it was known by many that the darkness was going to same dark void where the Heartless came from.

Fitting, since it was them who tainted the world's heart and caused this.

When the darkness was completely gone…there was nothing there where the planet had been.

The planet Gerrade was gone. Destroyed by the Heartless.

* * *

><p><strong>CROSSOVERS USED IN THIS CHAPTER<strong>

**Final Fantasy XIII- **The 13th installment in the Final Fantasy franchise, the game takes place in the fictional floating world of Cocoon, whose government, the Sanctum, is ordering a purge of civilians who have supposedly come into contact with Pulse, the much-feared world below. The former soldier Lightning begins her fight against the government in order to save her sister who has been branded as an unwilling servant to a god-like being from Pulse, making her an enemy of Cocoon.

Lightning is soon joined by a band of allies, and together the group also becomes marked by the same Pulse creature. They rally against the Sanctum while trying to discover their assigned task and whether they can avoid being turned into monsters or crystals at the completion.

**Ed, Edd n' Eddy- **The series revolved around three adolescent boys collectively known as "the Eds," who hang around in a suburban cul-de-sac. Unofficially led by Eddy, the Eds constantly scheme to make money off their peers, in order to purchase their favorite confectionery: jawbreakers. However, their plans usually fail, leaving them in various predicaments.


	3. Dreams and Nightmares

The Bahamut drifted through the vast blackness of space, uninterrupted during this week voyage back home. It was no doubt a blessing that the ship was attacked by a horde of Heartless, it was much harder to fight off Heartless in space, but the week voyage did not go quickly. A small sacrifice to pay for a short period of peace.

Captain Sazh Katzroy of the Spaceship Bahamut strolled down the ships corridor on the third day of the voyage back, making his routine inspection of the entire ship and his crew. He had served with most of the current crew for several years now, and he considered them all his friend, some-like Ikari-even something akin to family. He knew a lot of captains in the Keyblade Order preferred the stricter, business-like relationship with his crew, but the way Sazh saw it, the life they were living was too grim to have few friends, so Sazh opted for any chance to make new friends.

It helped that more than a few people on his ship were…bizarre to say the least.

The ship itself was like an old friend to Sazh as well. Like all Order ships, it was a pure white vessel, but as an older model, it had its fair share of marks and dents, and a less refined look to it. Still, there wasn't a ship Sazh would rather be on. He knew every square inch of the ship and just what it was capable of. He felt comfortable with the ship and its crew.

Granted, it could've done with some repairs, but considering the Order would be busy dealing with a planets worth of refugees soon, those repairs wouldn't be seen for a while.

As Sazh walked down the corridor, he looked directly at the ship medical bay, and as per usual walked in to check up. What he saw as he entered was the Keyblade newbie Yen Sid, lying on one of the beds, his expression a mix of confusion and worry. His eyes were staring intently at the man-no, _creature_-on the other side of the room, rummaging through the draw.

The said creature had light red skin and a round figure. He had blue eyes and his upper lip had lobster-like frills that dangled over his mouth. He rummaged through the drawer, not with hands, but with two large claws. Were he not wearing a Doctors uniform, people would've thought a rather large infestation had entered the ship. Fortunately-or arguably unfortunately-he was known by everyone as ship as Dr Zoidberg, the ships medic.

Zoidberg proceeded to take out a saw, and Sazh began to worry.

"Aha! Found you old buddy!" Zoidberg laughed triumphantly. He turned around and stepped up to Yen Sid "now then Mr Ten Rid-"

"I-it's Yen Sid."

"Silence! Do not question the doctor!" Zoidberg scolded. He held up the saw and lowered it directly above Yen Sid's right leg "now, I do believe we need to amputate this off."

"Wait! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! My leg injury has been healed now!" Yen Sid cried out "...And it was the other leg!"

"If you don't fix that mouth of yours, I'll amputate both legs!" Zoidberg threatened, waggling his right claw "Okay, on three. One, two-"

Sazh quickly grabbed Zoidberg's wrist and lifted the saw away from Yen Sid "T-that's quite all right Dr Zoidberg. That's all for now. I hear they're serving Salmon at the canteen right now."

Zoidberg gasped, his frills jumping around crazily "who's having a party and not invited me? I shall go at once, thanks Captain!"

With surprisingly quick haste for his large frame, Zoidberg ran out of the medical room, leaving Sazh alone with the still shocked Yen Sid. After a few moments of silence, Yen Sid turned to Sazh and almost yelled "is that…THING even a Doctor?"

"Haha…I'm not too certain myself." Sazh chuckled nervously, taking a seat beside Yen Sid's bed "but forget him if you can. How're you feeling kid?"

"Emotionally, still in shock right now." Yen Sid gulped, sweat rolling down his forehead "but all my wounds have healed up. Thanks for saving my life."

"Ah, don't thank me kid. Thank the cryogenic bed, it healed up your wounds whilst you were sleeping in it." Sazh explained. He smiled and sighed deeply.

"And of course, thank Ikari. Whilst you were knocked out, he fought off hordes of Heartless for nearly an hour. He was a right mess when the Ed's got him on the ship."

"Y-yea, I'd heard." Yen Sid mumbled, looking down at his hands. Sazh could see the look in his eyes and understood how he felt. It was disappointment at himself, something Sazh felt many times in his life.

"Don't feel bad about falling unconscious kid" Sazh said, patting Yen Sid on the shoulder "Ikari told me you took out a pretty impressive number yourself, for a newbie."

"H-he did?" Yen Sid said obvious surprise on his expression. His expression seem to light up a little, albeit one of confused amazement. Sazh could tell this guy was far from the arrogant type.

"Speaking of Ikari…where is he? I'd like to go see him and thank him personally." Yen Sid asked Sazh. Sazh shifted uncomfortably in his seat, scratching the back of his head, and said.

"We put him to sleep as well. Truth is son, his injuries were actually worse than yours."

* * *

><p>The second the door to the cryogenic beds were opened, Yen Sid felt the rooms temperature plummet. He rubbed his arms vigorously, getting as much thermal heat as possible. He sat on a wheelchair as Sazh carted him into the cold room, and both looked directly at the cryogenic beds. There were four in total, each a large, white, rectangular shape with various cords attached and a small terminal on the left side of each bed. The door to three were lifted open, signifying that they weren't being used, but the one at the far end was closed, and Yen Sid could see small traces of ice near the door.<p>

Ikari was inside it, sleeping.

Both Yen Sid and Sazh saw that they weren't the only ones in the room, as Double D was standing beside the closed cryogenic bed, seemingly typing something into the small terminal. The two walked up beside Double D, who turned to them and saluted "greetings Captain! And greetings Mr Yen Sid! I hope you're feeling much better today."

"I am, thanks" Yen Sid smiled "Captain Sazh told me you and two other guys helped me onto the ship. I owe you my life."

"Oh I did nothing, it was my friend Ed who carried you on board." Double D shrugged. He then smiled and patted the bed "and of course, it was Mr Ikari who fought off all those Heartless for an hour."

"Yea, I'd…heard about that. I was hoping to thank him when he woke up."

"I'm afraid he'll probably be asleep for a few more days. His injuries were pretty numerous." Double D explained. He seem to ponder for a moment, and said "on the other hand though, that may happen again…"

"Um…what will happen again?" Yen Sid asked, confused. Sazh pushed Yen Sid's chair forward, just so that he was looking down at the sleeping Ikari. He admittedly could only see the shape of his body, the glass was fogged up and incredibly hard to see through. Yen Sid could however make out the images of several wires, seemingly attached to Ikari.

"You see those wires kid? The ones that are directly attached to his forehead are there to help him sleep peacefully" Sazh explained "so that the Keybearer is in the right frame of mind when waking up, we use this technology to put his mind in a calm state whilst his wounds are being healed. I bet whilst you were sleeping in one of these, you had good dreams, right?"

"I…yea, I did." Yen Sid remembered. He remembered he'd dreamt about a lot of good things, back on his home world. The day his family went on a picnic, the day he passed the test to be a certified mage, the day he danced with an old crush of his at a dance. Happy, almost perfect moments in his life.

Yen Sid sighed sadly. Moments he would probably never feel again.

"Well, that was thanks to the cryogenic bed. It's able to bring up good times in the sleepers past and make them perfectly relive it. It means when they're woken up, they're not shaken from a bad dream or memory." Sazh explained.

"I see! Though…why did Double D say something might happen again? What happened?" Yen Sid asked. At this, Sazh face seemed to sink, and he became frighteningly quiet. Even Double D seemed to be uncomfortable at the mention of this topic.

"Kid." Sazh said finally "I'm afraid it's not my place to explain, but…well, Ikari's been through things no one deserves to go through, especially as a child."

"I…I don't quite follow."

"I'll just say this. If his heart rate on the terminal starts to accelerate…then it means he's reliving that day again."

* * *

><p><em>Soran opened his eyes, and he was no longer on his own world.<em>

_As he stood on the perfectly clean and intricately designed carpet, he took in all that was around him. It was night time in the city known as Rabanastre, and in the royal palace, everything was almost deathly silent. Soran held in his right hand a small pyramid-like ornament that was glowing intently, but the said glow was slowly dying out. Still, Soran held onto it intently._

_After all, he lost the teleporter, known by many A Gate, and he would never be able to go back to his own world._

"_Soran!"_

_Soran turned his head to look towards the large bed in the room, and saw sitting in the bed, a young girl-the same age as Soran-of medium size and of slender frame, garbed in a blue sleeping gown._ _She had sandy blonde hair cropped just above her shoulders, and looked happily at Soran with her blue sparkling eyes. She smiled deeply at Soran, who felt his face go red, happiness surging through him._

"_Hey Ashe! Sorry it's been a while since I last came!" Soran exclaimed, running up to her. Ashe quickly threw over the quilt and jumped out the bed. She looked directly at Soran, crossed her arms and smiled smugly._

"_That's 'Princess' to you commoner. Did you already forget that I'm the Princess of Dalmasca?" Ashe huffed sarcastically. _

_Soran scratched his cheek innocently "well yea, but I'm not from Dalmasca, or Ivalice, so I don't need to be formal."_

"_How rude! I should have Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg place your head on a spike for me!" Ashe pretended to be offended, but her façade quickly ended and she giggled. She grabbed Soran by his hand "come on, let's go on the balcony."_

_Princess Ashe took Soran to the balcony of her bedroom, where they could overlook the entire city of Rabanastre. The city at night was beautiful to behold, with every inch of the city lit up like the stars, and the bustle of the city could still be heard. Soran and Ashe stared out into the city for several serene minutes, each just glad to be in each other's company again._

_He remembered the first time he'd 'borrowed' the Gate from his father's study and used it, one year ago. He admitted now it was an incredibly stupid to do, but in his defense, he was 9 years old at the time. Soran had heard his dad explain how to use it, by simply placing in certain coordinates into the machine, and then using your own spiritual energy to activate it. Soran remembered that he'd just put in random numbers, and thanks to his training at school, he could easily activate the machine._

_Of all the places it could've took him, it took him to the bedchamber of a Princess. _

_He remembered just how frightened she'd been when he'd suddenly appeared in her room. It had been a night like this, and she had shouted at him, during which she'd called him a thief, a kidnapper, a Sky Pirate and Archadian scum. She had ran out into the balcony as he'd tried to explain the situation to her, but she just kept on screaming and stepping backwards._

_Until she fell over the railing, about to plummet right to the bottom of the palace._

_Soran however, being the incredibly awesome guy that he was, had quickly ran up and caught her hand, pulling her back onto the balcony and saving her live. She had been horribly shaken from her near death experience, but as the shock wore off, she realized that Soran was not a threat to her at all. In fact he was now her savior._

_The two quickly became good friends._

_Soran guessed that his world and Dalmasca had the same hours in a day, so after that day he would use any chance he could get to 'borrow' his dads' Gate and meet with Ashe in her bedroom. They would talk for hours, telling each other about their world and about their lives. They'd sometimes play games, while other times they'd be like they were today and simply stare out into Rabanastre._

_Despite the trillions of miles that probably existed between them, the two almost became inseparable._

_The two must've stared out into Rabanastre for five minutes, before Ashe sighed and looked uncomfortably down at the ground "I…I came back from Nabradia a week ago."_

"_Nabradia? That's…the neighboring country, right?"Soran asked. Ashe nodded _

"_Yes. Since my father is king here, he's an old friend of Nabradia's king. They introduced me to his son, Rasler, and we're…" Ashe swallowed, before saying "…gonna get married when we're older."_

"_Oh, that's cool. What was he-WAIT WHAT?" Soran shouted in shock. Ashe quickly put her finger over her lips and shushed._

"_Shh! Don't be so loud!"_

"_S-sorry, but still, they're gonna make you marry a complete stranger? Why would they do that to you?" Soran exclaimed. Ashe looked down at the ground again._

"_My father…he and a lot of people are afraid of Archadia. Every day it seems more likely that they'll invade Nabradia and Dalmasca. Our marriage is supposed to cement an alliance between our nations for when Archadia invade us."_

"_You mean they've gotta marry two strangers just to make them work together?" Soran snorted "that's stupid."_

"_Maybe, but that's how politics work in Ivalice." Ashe looked at Soran and faked a smile "I did speak to Rasler. H-he's really nice."_

_Soran didn't reply, and everything went quiet once again, only this time the silence was uncomfortable and almost painful to stand. With a heavy sigh, Soran faced Ashe and raised his right arm._

"_I…have something to tell you as well." Soran said slowly "a few days ago, some weird people from a different world came to our school. They…made us all do some weird tests, and…well…"_

_A grey Keyblade with a gold handle appeared in Soran's hand._

_Ashe gasped, staring down at the Keyblade as she covered her mouth with her hands "what is that?"_

"_It's a Keyblade. I told you about this before, they're these weapons that are used by people called 'Keybearers' to take out this black, weird looking creatures called the 'Heartless'."_

"_Oh yes. They are those creatures that attack worlds, right?"_

"_Yep. I was the only person in the entire school to pass the test. They're going to take me to their homeworld in three days, after the Golden Solstice."_

"_So…so you're going to become a Keybearer? You're going to fight off these Heartless and save worlds!" Ashe smiled joyfully, and suddenly hugged a surprised Soran "Oh Soran! I always knew you were a hero!"_

"_H-hey, I haven't saved anyone yet" Soran laughed nervously. Ashe released the hug, but kept on smiling at Soran._

"_Not true. You saved me, remember?" Ashe reminded him, giggling. Her smile slowly faded though when she saw the anxieties on his face "what's wrong? Are you frightened?"_

"_N-no! It's just that…"Soran bit his lip "…when my mum found out…she broke down in tears. Whenever she sees me now she looks like she's about to start crying again. It's sorta the same with my dad. It's like they're afraid instead of happy for me. It's like they're…it's like they're…"_

_Sora couldn't say it out loud. He couldn't say his parents were acting like he was dead._

_Soran was snapped out his brooding when Ashe grabbed his hands, looking him dead on in the face "Sora, I…I don't know exactly what you'll go through, but…I believe in you, okay? If there's anyone who can save every world, it's you."_

"_You…you think so?"_

"_I do" Ashe stated. Blushing slightly, Ashe said "in fact, I've got a proposal for you. If Dalmasca…no, Ivalice is attacked by the Heartless, and you come and save it…I'll...I'll marry you instead!"_

"_M-m-m-marry me?" Soran stuttered. He was at a loss for words, though part of him couldn't help but notice how much the idea appealed to him…_

"_That's right! If the Heartless are really a big threat, and if you did save us, then you'd be the greatest hero in all of Ivalice! My father would beg you to marry me. So how does that sound to you, Soran of the Keybearer?"_

_Soran wasn't sure if she was joking or not, but her expression seemed to very much say the latter, which made the whole situation even more uncomfortable. It was all happening so fast, but none of it felt…wrong. That was the weirdest part. In the end he could only say one thing._

"_Er…sure."_

_Ashe seemed satisfied with the answer, as she clapped her hands and cheered "excellent! Now we just need to seal the promise with a kiss."_

"…_Eh?"_

"_A kiss! That way the promise is sealed, and our vow will last a lifetime. No matter how far we are from each other, it will remain true always." Ashe explained. She slowly closed her eyes, opened her mouth slightly, and slowly leaned in._

_Soran gulped and felt his whole face sweating, but once again he found himself wanting to partake in this. He closed his own eyes, leaned forward and-_

* * *

><p>Yen Sid jolted as the cryogenic bed began to make an alarm-like noise that radiated through the room. Double D quickly jumped to the small terminal and typed in a few buttons, his expression becoming more and more worried by the second.<p>

"Captain! His heart rate is accelerating rapidly, and his brain waves are going berserk!" Double D cried out "I think he's…he's…"

Sazh bit his lip, looking down at Ikari "he's reliving that day…that nightmare again."

* * *

><p><em>Soran opened his eyes, and he found himself back on his home world.<em>

_Only it was in ruins. Giant buildings that had once stood tall were collapsed. Everything was flooded with a dark ocean which stuck to the land like fungus. Soran looked all around him. He was alone on the ruins of the place he once called his house, alone._

_Soran felt like he had lived this day several times, but like always he did the same things. He cried out frantically for his mother, his father, his sister, his friends, for anyone, but nobody answered. He felt his eyes go wet with tears, and his body go cold, but he was alone, and everything around him that he knew, that he was familiar with, had been destroyed._

_Soraheard footsteps ahead of him. He looked up and saw the figure once more, standing but a few feet away. The same one he saw in the nightmare every time. It was shaped like a man, but it was completely black like a Heartless, with the same yellow eyes that a Heartless possessed. Deep down, Soran knew this creature was responsible for all of this. It was the one who had taken everything away from him._

_The man-like Heartless raised its human-like arm, and reached out for Soran._

_Soran screamed._

* * *

><p>The door to the cryogenic bed flew open as Sazh, Yen Sid and Double D forced it up. Almost instantly, Ikari opened his eyes, his body jumping up, and he gasped desperately for air. His body sweated from head to toe, and he kept on breathing heavily for air. Trembling slightly, his body jumped slightly when Sazh placed a hand on his shoulder.<p>

"Ikari! You feeling okay?" Sazh asked slowly. After taking a few more deep breaths, Ikari nodded.

"Yea…yea I'm okay now. I just…I just had that nightmare again." Ikari muttered. Double D stepped forward beside Sazh.

"If you're okay for walking Mr. Ikari, we should go the medical room and check everything went correctly, besides…well, you know…"

Ikari nodded "sure thing Double D. You go ahead, I'll catch up after I've gotten a few more breathes."

Double D nodded, and turned and left the room. Sazh patted Ikari again on the shoulders and said "it's good to have you back up Ikari. You kicked a ton of Heartless ass out there on Gerrade."

"Don't I always?" Ikari smiled slightly "speaking of Gerrade, has it…"

"It's gone…yea." Sazh nodded, sighing "another whole planet, taken by the Heartless. It's gonna be hell to set up living quarters for all those we evacuated."

"Makes me kinds happy my only job is to smash Heartless." Ikari joked. He looked to his left, and finally noticed Yen Sid, who had sat back down into the chair.

"Um…thanks for saving my life back on Gerrade, Mr Ikari." Yen Sid bowed nervously. Ikari stared silently for a moment, before nodding and smiling slightly.

"No need to thank me kid, it's what comrades do. It's good to see you're doing well yourself." Ikari said "now that you've survived a mission like this, things are only get tougher, and I won't always be there to save your ass. Got it?"

"R-right."

"Good." Ikari stood up and stretched his arms, letting out a few groans "well, best let Double D check everything's okay. At least before Zoiberg gets a chance to interfere."

As Ikari started to walk out, he gave a quick glance at the cryogenic bed he had slept in. He recalled the dream he had before the…nightmare. The happy memory that lied deep in his mind, of a promise he had once made with a good friend that Soran had once had.

A promise he would never have chance to keep. After all, Soran was dead.

Ikari however, was alive and still fighting.

* * *

><p><strong>CROSSOVERS USED IN THIS CHAPTER.<strong>

**Final Fantasy XII- **The game takes place in the fictional land of Ivalice, where the empires of Archadia and Rozarria are waging an endless war. Dalmasca, a small kingdom, is caught between the warring nations. When Dalmasca is annexed by Archadia, its princess, Ashe, creates a resistance movement.

During the struggle, she meets Vaan, a young adventurer who dreams of commanding an airship. They are quickly joined by a band of allies; together, they rally against the tyranny of the Archadian Empire.

**Futurama-** The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, who, after being unwittingly cryogenically frozen for one thousand years, finds employment at Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery company in the retro-futuristic 31st century.

**Final Fantasy XIII**

**Ed Edd n' Eddy**


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